ABSTRACT ? ADMINISTRATIVE CORE The Rush Alzheimer's Disease Core Center (Rush ADCC) Administrative Core is the mechanism for providing scientific leadership for the ADCC. It coordinates the activities of the Cores and pilot projects, facilitates communication among the investigators, provides for efficient allocation of resources, and oversees data and resource sharing activities. The responsibility for overall scientific leadership will rest with Dr. Bennett as ADCC Director and is shared with and exercised through the Executive Committee composed of the Core Leaders, Administrator, Data Manager, a non-ADCC Core Leader, and non-ADCC ad hoc members that have staggered rotations. Four other committees carry out specific functions. The External Advisory Committee, composed of distinguished investigators active in AD research at institutions outside the Chicago area, assesses Rush ADCC progress and provides advice concerning the directions ADCC efforts should take. The Resource Distribution Committee evaluates all requests for data, requests for access to participants for recruitment into externally-funded studies, and for ante-mortem and post-mortem specimens from persons evaluated by the Clinical and Religious Orders Study Cores, and advises the Director and Executive Committee concerning priorities in distributing these resources. The Administrative Core places strong emphasis on facilitating wide access to ADCC data and tissue resources, while assuring that only scientifically sound investigations will receive this access, resolving issues related to competing uses for limited specimens, and avoiding wasteful overlap in effort. The Pilot Project Committee conducts the competitive review of all pilot project proposals submitted to the ADCC. A major criterion for success of each pilot project is whether it will likely lead to a fully developed, scientifically excellent study that secures independent funding. A new Research Education Committee will evaluate applications for mini-internships and structured mentoring by Rush ADCC and other personnel.